Community Champion ⭐⭐⭐

FACT OF THE DAY

Forum|Forum|3 years ago
June 13, 2023
51 replies
17922 views

Colonial Americans fed lobster to prisoners because it was so cheap

Lobster is one of those things you buy at fancy restaurants where waiters bring you baskets of artisanal bread and call you things like “Sir” and “Madam”. However, that was not always the case. In the colonial era of the United States of America, lobster was so abundant, easy to find, and cheap that it was simply cooked up and served to prisoners as their jail food. No word on if they got hot butter to dip it in, but we would bet against it.

Show previous replies

Community Champion ⭐⭐⭐

FACT OF THE DAY

Maine

Get your butter and bibs. Maine's lobster harvest hit an all-time high in 2016, with fishermen bringing in over 130 million pounds of the crustacean. Lobsters are harvested year round in Maine, despite extreme cold winter temperatures.

Posted by Dave the Lighthouse Keeper

Community Champion ⭐⭐⭐

FACT OF THE DAY

Maryland

Maine's not the only crustacean capital in the country. Maryland blue crabs are a classic Chesapeake delicacy that locals (and visitors!) enjoy steamed, sautéed, or mixed into soups and dips.

Posted by Dave the Lighthouse Keeper

Community Champion ⭐⭐⭐

FACT OF THE DAY

Massachusetts

It wouldn't be New England without a bowl of "chowdah," and Bay Staters take their soup so seriously that one lawmaker tried to criminalize adding tomatoes to their New England clam chowder back in 1939.

Posted by Dave the Lighthouse Keeper

Community Champion ⭐⭐⭐

FACT OF THE DAY

Michigan

If you've ever sipped a can of ginger ale to quell an upset stomach, you have this state to thank. The first soda — or "pop" — made in the country was Vernor's Ginger Ale in 1866.

Posted by Dave the Lighthouse Keeper

Community Champion ⭐⭐⭐

FACT OF THE DAY

Minnesota

Pass the bread basket! This midwestern state is nicknamed the "Bread and Butter State" because of its plentiful wheat fields and butter-making plants.

Posted by Dave the Lighthouse Keeper

Community Champion ⭐⭐⭐

Mississippi

Sweet potatoes have been growing in the United States since before Columbus came over in 1492. Vardaman, Mississippi, is the Sweet Potato Capital of the World and hosts an annual sweet potato festival featuring a pie eating contest, live entertainment, and a Sweet Potato King & Queen competition.

Posted by Dave the Lighthouse Keeper

Community Champion ⭐⭐⭐

Montana

Vegetables can be pretty sweet. Montana is such a big producer of sugar beets — light brown beets that you can cook to create a molasses — that they're the mascot of Chinook High School.

Posted by Dave the Lighthouse Keeper

Community Champion ⭐⭐⭐

Nebraska

Got steak? Nebraska's license plates in the '50s and '60s read "The Beef State", and beef continues to be the state's single largest industry.

Posted by Dave the Lighthouse Keeper

Community Champion ⭐⭐⭐

Nevada

If you're looking to get the biggest meal for your buck, a trip to Las Vegas will leave you with a full belly. The casino city is also known as the world capital of buffets, with about 70 total in the city.

Posted by Dave the Lighthouse Keeper

Community Champion ⭐⭐⭐

New Hampshire

A visit to Stonyfield Farm in Londonderry, New Hampshire, can show you how yogurt and other dairy products are produced ethically. This organic, non-GMO company is one of the most popular yogurt producer in the country, and you've probably spotted their products in your dairy aisle. Bonus: They'll even let you taste some free samples.

Posted by Dave the Lighthouse Keeper

Show more replies